about his grand kids and said they beat him at games, he said i made the original record, so shut up. the ultimate trump card if you wrote the music. >> do you ever play the rock star? you're so much cooler than i am. >> playing rock band makes me cool, your standards are very low. finally, in brownsville, texas, zoo officials hope that they can save the life of the little guerilla. she has been kept alive by volunteers since she was rejected by her mother, moved to a zoo in cincinnati. the officials hope she can create a bond with one of the adult females. we hope they have a good relationship. way too early with the guest host, peter alexander, starts right now. our president, barack obama

took a day off to go play golf in florida. i don't care, what do i care? play golf. played with a guy named tiger woods. this is our president playing golf this weekend. >> what do you think? >> that is your drop program at work. president obama mixing a little r & r, mixing business. good morning, i'm peter alexander, "way too early," glad you're up with us on this tuesday, february 19th. a lot going on, new details coming on even as we speak in south africa, where olympian oscar pistorius is back in court

for a bail hearing on the murder of his girlfriend. we'll have more on a live update, even as we speak. and republicans say they're being shut out by the white house on the big issues of the day, among them, gun control and immigration. is it an excuse to pass the blame, on the coalition of the willing? and also, an explanation on the cruise ship, they called it the triumph, hardly a triumph, they returned home after being stranded for five days at sea. but as we just told you, we'll begin with new details as south african olympic runner oscar pistorius returns to court on charges that he murdered his girlfriend, model reeva steencamp. prosecutors say he put on the prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom and shot reeva steencamp through the locked door. the 20-year-old model will be buried today. his sponsors, nike and oakley

among them, pulled their deals. jim, the prosecutors today said this murder, they believe, was premeditated. >> reporter: that is right, peter, that is what the prosecution is going to be describing today in great detail. that is what has made this scene electric at this pretoria courtroom this morning, whereas you mentioned the sports icon, oscar pistorius, known better as "the blade runner," appeared for the second time. being charged with murder, premeditated murder of his girlfriend, reeva steencamp. now the details of the thursday morning shooting at his home were described by the prosecution. we saw him wearing a gray suit and tie, weeping uncontrollably again this morning. the prosecution again, claimed that pistorius fired the 9 mm

rounds from a pistol, through the door behind which reeva steencamp was cowering. it could mean life in prison in south africa. the prosecutor said if i arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person that is premeditated. the motive is "i want to kill," that is it, said the prosecutor. but the defense disputed that, saying that the forensic situation was still too confused and it is too early to claim there was premeditation. all we really know, said a lawyer, was that she locked herself behind the toilet door and she was shot. the question of bail as you mentioned is supposed to be decided today. the prosecution argued strongly against it. but that could happen, multiple later on in the day because this hearing has all the hall marks of turning into a marathon session, pete? >> all right, jim, thank you so much, we're looking at live pictures outside, you can see

protesters and demonstrators out there. the prosecution not noted the bathroom was 5 x 5, a confined space, saying no burglar would lock themselves behind a door just like that. jim, thank you so much. we'll move to our nation's capitol where last night president obama announced he would be joined by first responders to deliver remarks on the billion dollar budget cuts set to kick in next friday. according to administration officials the president will challenge republicans to make a "very simple choice between protecting working americans or protecting tax loopholes" but republicans say it is harming opportunities for compromise on capitol hill. and a number of top gop senators who could help pass the president's agenda are still surprised they haven't heard from him. one of them is senator mark

kirk, although the republican is a leading voice for new gun legislation, he and the president have never spoken about it. according to politico, the only thing that took place was this moment at the address. one senate aide said the reform, throughout the speech, didn't make it interesting for some who are interested in finding common ground. and rob portman says he is open to working with democrats. but he says the inter action with the administration is limited to jack lew, and senator marco rubio who was been working on immigration reform was frustrated with the white house. all that issue was leaked before congress had its own version ready. he said if it ever went through. it would be "dead on arrival." one spokesperson said that the

entire obama administration is making contact with their staff. and will work with anyone who wants to build the middle class. helping us now is politico's executive editor. do they have a legitimate group here? >> i think they do, this is the group for four years, there is this block of senators in the republican party, unlike the house, which i don't think really wants to cut any deals. these guys in the senate really do want to cut a deal and hear nothing from the president. they feel like if they got an overture, whether it was on gun control or spending, it would make it easier to do business with the white house. you remember early in the first term of the presidency, the big knock was that the president didn't talk to mitch mcconnell, who was running the senate, didn't talk to him for a year. they felt like that was a tipping point where things went south, as far as a relationship. >> and jim, as we discussed

before, aren't there a lot of lawmakers involved who say it complicates the reform? when the bill leaked out, rubio and paul ryan said why are you interfering here? >> yeah, i think it is before you have the legislation, be able to talk to republicans, the question is on gun control, do you want a deal? if you want a deal you have to bring republicans into the mix. so for the president, it is a tough deal. the president says every time i do engage you guys you end up not wanting to do business with me. or you end up going public saying i'm a fraud, or -- or not with you, he can't have it either way. there are senators who say he wants to do business. there is the provision on tax reform, on guns, immigration, to get something done, maybe not everything the president wants if they can figure out how to

improve relationships between the office. and give us a quick tease of obama, the puppet master. >> yes, the mediaistic, they're ticked off at the president, saying they're not getting any interviews, and getting shut out. they feel it is indicative of the white house to not be transparent and helpful and try to manipulate its image. >> thank you so much, appreciate it. with more than 70 thousand estimated dead in syria, the investigators are recommending the u.n. security council acts urgently. they find that evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including accounts of massacres, executions, torture, even sexual abuse against children by both opposition

forces and the syrian government. member nations of the u.n. are expected to discuss the report when they meet next month at the human rights council. meanwhile, "the new york times" may revisit the plans to become involved in the conflict, including possibly arming the syrian rebels. president obama has been reluctant to take that action, describing what they call nonlethal assistance, as well as humanitarian aid. and national average of gas at 3.73 a gallon. in fact, fuel prices have climbed for the last 32 days. experts blame an increase in demand. several refineries have shut down. that is another reason, just some of the contributing factors that they credit at this point. the coast guard now says a leak in the fuel line caused the fire that all by crippled the

carnival cruise ship, triumph. the spokesperson said that the leak sparked the pie. t of of -- the question remains why the ship lost power, completely, with more than 4,000 passengers and crew members on board. it was as you witnessed, five terrible days for the ship as it limped into mobile, alabama, after having a lack of much food and bathrooms. and as always, let you know why you're awake. shoot us an e-mail at "way too early." you should see some of the tweets that i get by mistake. we'll read the best responses a little later in the show. still ahead on "way too early," the coach getting pushy with one of the players over the weekend. we'll tell you how the school is dealing with it.

plus, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is accused of sapping the state budget for ice cream, apparently, the ice cream trips are not sitting well with the public. a strategic prize in the pacific, defended to the death, by 20,000 japanese. on the fifth day of a battle that would last weeks, u.s. marines made it to the top of the mountain and planted the flag.

♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime.

take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia,

ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. ♪ thank you for joining us on "way too early." a gorgeous look at the top of the rock in new york city.

a nice looking day this morning as we get ready for what should be a decent afternoon across much of the east coast. my friend, bill karins, checking on the weather there on the east coast. >> its an interesting year, it will be fun i look forward to march. i don't think the national championships -- i don't think we're looking that far, peter. >> michigan wolves. >> wind chill, minus 41, down to four in chicago, big changes from yesterday, much colder in the middle of the country, but also warmer in the east. we're actually watching a good deal of rain heading in the east. the rain is heading from central pennsylvania, to erie, further to the south, snow mixed in there, around charles and the

appalachian. along the seaboard, 95 corridor, try to start your morning, probably by lunchtime, raining in most areas and gone as we go through the evening. that is when it will get much colder, look at the temperatures, four for a high in minneapolis. tomorrow, remaining cold. the big weather story is in the middle of the country if you're at kansas, nebraska, iowa, minnesota, missouri, illinois. right through the heartland. a snowstorm will be coming, snow and ice, peter, that will be the big storm to deal with later this week. >> 81 in miami, looking pretty good. >> ready for baseball. all right, the sports news, lakers owner, dr. jerry buss, who took ten teams for a championship, has passed away. buss ushered in the teams, bringing in greats like magic and kareem abdul-jabbar.

the nba enjoyed him for 34 years at the helm, and inducted into the hall of fame. jerry buss was 80 years old. and college hoops, hometown of berkeley, cal head coach mike montgomery won't be suspended by the pac 12 for shoving a player during a game. montgomery was disciplined by the conference, but he wouldn't face suspension for shoving the player in the chest. after playing down the incident, montgomery apologized yesterday saying he made a mistake and was trying to fire up his star player. it appears to have worked. he told reporters on sunday that there are "no hard feelings." he went on to score 23 points and helped cal erase a 15-point second half deficit. and this coming to us from "dead spin.com," a player from

georgia college women's team, coming up a little bit short on the free throw. she is hardly the only player that has had trouble. we're an equal opportunity show, we have guys, too. brian ocam didn't quite have the decisions here, double clutch there on the free throw attempt. and lest you think we're only picking on the college kids, that was an air ball. he takes home a cool $7 million a season. happens to the best of us. opening day barely a month away in baseball, angel's outfielder josh hamilton settles in with his new team, and quickly blowing off the fans with the old one, hamilton left the texas rangers, signs a 5-year 125 million deal this season. in the ft. worth area, he says there are true baseball fans in texas, not a true baseball town,

they're supportive but also got a little spoiled at the same time pretty quickly. hamilton dropped a routine fly ball against the a's, got booed after the wild card loss against the orioles, should be a pretty homecoming for hamilton when the angels visit arlington february 5th. and finally, president obama facing criticism, presidential privacy on the links is far from unprecedented. here is andrea mitchell with that story. >> reporter: when fdr died in georgia in 1945, the white house reporters were in washington. when president eisenhower had his first heart attack after playing 27 holes of golf outside denver in 1955, the press corp was first told it was a stomach

ache. ronald reagan rode his horse without any press coverage. and president clinton had a late night fall in florida. the traveling press corp, miles away. most americans understand that the job is 24/7, others say be prepared to see a different president obama in the second term, willing to do things like playing golf with a controversial figure like tiger woods. >> it is true that if he played golf with tiger woods during the campaign it may have been interpreted differently. and anything was fair game, a source of controversy in a campaign. of course he feels more liberated to do something like that. >> reporter: the white house press corp only found out from twitter and on the air. >> to see them drive off to the first tee, the president behind the wheel, tiger woods in the passenger's seat, to play their

first round of golf together. by all accounts they had a blast. >> reporter: president bush welcomed coverage, president's clinton and obama have been spotted on the links in martha's vineyard, and bush talked about terrorism on the golf course. >> i call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. thank you. now watch this drive. >> reporter: and this white house was eager to show the president enjoying quality time with john boehner, and bill clinton. >> this is not about a trivial issue like a golf game. what we care about is the politics of the united states, whether it is a democrat or republican. coming up right here on "the morning show," president obama braces and gets ready for the automatic spending cuts, what they call sequester.

but will they avoid the sequester? the morning crew will join in. we'll huddle around the water crew, where michelle obama discusses her new bangs. "way too early" coming right back. [ male announcer ] if you can clear a crowd but not your nasal congestion, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter.

now for the real news around the water cooler, no more late snacks for netanyahu, he melted his ice cream budget down to nothing after an israeli news showed he was spending extra money on ice cream. it buys the family nearly a pint a day. netanyahu was apparently unaware of the expense, when he found out he immediately cancelled all shipments. heavy ice cream shipments are a part of our history. george washington made ice cream from the potomac river. one summer he spent $200 on ice cream, and it calculated for a modern-day $2700. netanyahu is in good company.

and guests in the past enjoyed burnt almond ice cream. and vladimir putin loves pistachio, one thing the two have in common. president obama has been seen eating ice cream. the president worked at a baskin robbins when he was a teenager. the president had to share the spotlight with the first lady and her bangs. she shocked all the cameras by debuting her new hair cut at the inauguration. and now she reveals the decision behind the new "do" in a chat with rachael ray. >> the bangs entered through my twitter account. i'm going to be 50 next year, okay? >> you look gorgeous. all the apples. >> it is the apples, this is my

mid-life crisis, i couldn't get a sports car, they won't let me bungee jump, so i went for the bangs. >> you're the boss of your hair. >> i can do this, this is all mine. >> the first lady bungee jump. the rachael ray episode will air this wednesday. and still, why are you awake? the tweets and e-mails coming up. now just moments away. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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